Milk

Milk follows Yusuf, a young man who has just finished high school in a small provincial town and is unsure what comes next. He failed the university entrance exam, and his real passion is poetry, with some of his poems appearing in little-known literary journals. He lives with his mother, Zehra, who runs a small dairy and sells milk and dairy products; she urges him to be more practical about earning a living. The arrival of new supermarkets and the region's rapid industrialization threaten their traditional way of life, and Yusuf's unease grows when he learns of Zehra's discreet relationship with the town's stationmaster.

The film is the second instalment of Semih Kaplanoğlu's trilogy about Yusuf, which also includes Honey and Buğday. Kaplanoğlu directed, produced and co-wrote the screenplay with Orçun Köksal. Melih Selçuk plays Yusuf, with Başak Köklükaya as Zehra, Rıza Akın, Saadet Işıl Aksoy, Tansu Biçer and Tülin Özen in supporting roles. A German, Turkish and French co-production running 102 minutes, it is a drama about the pull between tradition and a changing Anatolia.

Reception has been modest. On IMDb it holds 6.6 out of 10 from around 3,500 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.9 from a much smaller pool of 57 votes, suggesting a limited but not dismissive audience.